Day 4 - The FIRST RIDE

That's right folks

The first ride happened on Day 4, 

the 19th of June

Ground work first

Before you put pressure on in the saddle

do it on the ground

Buddy tests to see if Jackpot is ok with weight

Looks good

Jackpot says "What are we doing now?"

Saddling up

A kind word from Buddy goes a long way

More ground work

Working the stirrups

to let Jackpot know it's ok if he sees them 

out like this

Sometimes horses will catch that out of the 

corner of their eye and it's very scary

Best do it on the ground first

Both sides

Buddy's thinking on putting that foot in the stirrup

But first

He puts his weight onto the saddle

and this happens

Jackpot didn't like that so much

Buddy remains calm as always

and tries it again

This time is much better

So Buddy puts a foot in the stirrup

and he will do this again

and again

and again

As many times as it takes

until he feels the time is right

the horse is comfortable at this point

and he swings a leg over!!!

A moment to let Jackpot figure out what happened

and at this point Buddy isn't guiding him

just reassuring him

and around they go

Now the next picture is a rare thing

don't faint

Buddy cracks a smile!!

A good first ride

Buddy dismounts

and gives lots of love to Jackpot

Strip off the saddle

and rub all those sweaty spots

That makes a horse feel goooood

Excellent first ride

THAT is how IT'S DONE

More to come soon!